1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the use of polycationic condensates as color transfer inhibiting and color release reducing additive to detergents and fabric conditioners, and to detergents and fabric conditioners which comprise polycationic condensates.
2. Description of the Background
When colored textiles are washed, the dye is partly released from the colored textiles and transferred from the wash liquor to other fabrics. If, for example, white laundry is washed together with colored textiles, the white laundry becomes soiled. In order to prevent transfer of the released textile dye from the wash liquor to the laundry, color detergents which contain polymeric color transfer inhibitors have been developed. The latter comprise, for example, homo- and copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone and vinylimidazole, cf. DE-B-22 32 353 and DE-A-28 14 287.
EP-A-0 462 806 discloses the use of cationic dye fixatives in after-wash treatment baths together with fabric softeners. The after-treatment of the laundry takes place in usual domestic washing machines at temperatures below 40xc2x0 C. The dye fixatives can, according to the statements in the application, also be employed in nonionic detergents. The cationic fixatives slow down the release of the dye from the colored textiles during the treatment process.
EP-A-0209787 discloses a method for the after-treatment of colored cellulosic fiber materials which have been dyed with reactive dyes, where the colored materials undergo after-treatment, either batchwise in the dyeing apparatus or continuously in backwashers for tops or in padding mangles or open-width washers for sheet material, with an aqueous liquor of benzylated condensates from piperazine (derivatives) and epichlorohydrin to remove unfixed hydrolyzed reactive dyes from the colored material.
It is an object of the present invention to provide more effective compositions for suppressing release and transfer of dyes to other textiles during the washing and during the after-treatment of colored textiles.